The campus is expected to begin drawing electricity roughly two years before its dedicated gas plant opens. Residents are also contesting how the county approved the development.
Sturgeon County has issued another permit for the site of Meta’s proposed $13-billion data centre, as residents seek permission to challenge the approval process for one of Alberta’s largest technology investments.
The October 20 permit covers foundation pilings for one building and a mechanical yard. It is scheduled to take effect November 10, the deadline listed for eligible appeals. It does not authorize construction of the entire campus or establish that piling has begun. [1]
The decision follows an October 13 hearing before Alberta’s Land and Property Rights Tribunal over who can challenge the project’s master site permit and whether that challenge should proceed. More than 125 people sought to appeal, according to reporting by The Energy Mix. As of October 24, AB Post had not verified a final ruling on those preliminary issues. [2]
Meta and the provincial government present the development as a major source of construction work, tax revenue and demand for Alberta natural gas. Opponents question the adequacy of the approval process and the effects on nearby communities.
The project also raises a question for electricity customers across Alberta: how much power will the campus draw before its dedicated generating plant is ready?
A data centre and a separate power plant
Meta announced its first Canadian data centre on July 8. The company describes a one-gigawatt campus designed for artificial-intelligence workloads and its other products, with investment exceeding $13 billion. [3]
The county’s master site permit places the development at 56111 Range Road 223, on land zoned heavy industrial within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. [4]
Alongside it, the Greenlight Electricity Centre will generate power from natural gas. Its owners are Pembina Pipeline and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, each with 47.5 per cent, and Kineticor Asset Management, with five per cent. [5]
Greenlight’s partners committed in July to a 932-megawatt first phase. Its estimated capital cost is $4 billion, rising to approximately $4.6 billion when financing costs are included. The Alberta Utilities Commission has approved a larger, two-stage development of up to 1,864 megawatts. [5][6]
The investment commitment covers the smaller first phase. Building the full approved capacity would require a further investment decision.
Electricity demand arrives before new generation
Capital Power has signed an agreement to supply Meta with 250 megawatts of capacity and energy for more than 10 years. Its announcement anticipates that the initial load will enter service in the second half of 2028. [7]
Greenlight’s first phase is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2030, roughly two years later. [5]
Capital Power will supply the initial demand from its existing Alberta generation fleet. [7]
The Alberta Electric System Operator has also allocated 970 megawatts to the GLDC project through its initial large-load allocation process. That represents about 81 per cent of the 1,200 megawatts allocated in that round; the remaining 230 megawatts went to a Keephills data centre project. [8]
The allocation does not mean Meta will consume all 970 megawatts immediately. The public announcements do not provide a complete schedule showing how consumption will increase before Greenlight enters service.
Meta says it will fund new generation and grid infrastructure and cover the full costs of its energy use. The province says the development could reduce transmission costs by up to six per cent. That claim concerns the transmission portion of electricity bills, not a six-per-cent reduction in the entire bill. [3][9]
The announcements provide no guarantee that total household electricity bills will fall.
Water use extends beyond the cooling system
Meta says the campus will use a closed-loop liquid-cooling system with dry cooling, requiring no operational water use for cooling. Water would still be needed for domestic uses, fire protection and equipment maintenance. [3]
The associated power plant has its own water requirements.
The AUC decision records an estimated 538,000 cubic metres annually for Greenlight, supplied through municipal infrastructure. That is 538 million litres a year, averaging approximately 1.47 million litres a day. That estimate covers water for the power plant, separately from the data centre’s cooling system. [10]
Sturgeon County says its regional water allocation can accommodate the development. It also says industry pays for required infrastructure upgrades and residential customers receive priority during water restrictions. [11]
The AUC required Greenlight to confirm the municipal approval or agreement covering its water use in a final project update. [10]
Residents are contesting how the permit was approved
The October tribunal hearing concerned the master site development permit, which establishes a framework for the campus. [2][4]
According to The Energy Mix’s account, the county argued that standing to appeal should be restricted to people within three kilometres. Residents’ representatives disputed that boundary and argued that eligibility should depend on evidence of impacts.
They also questioned whether required studies had been completed before the master permit was issued. The county’s position was that further permits would be required and that some studies were appropriately addressed later in development. [2]
The county’s permit notices explain that appeals against a permitted use are restricted. People other than the applicant must be affected by a decision in which the land-use bylaw was relaxed, varied or misinterpreted. [1]
The tribunal has been asked to decide whether the residents have grounds for a hearing. Their allegations remain contested.
Noise controls are conditions of approval
For Greenlight, the AUC concluded that predicted operating noise would comply with applicable limits if mitigation measures were implemented. It also identified a limited margin at the closest residence and required further modelling, monitoring and verification. [10]
Compliance will depend on those controls working as designed. The decision addresses the power plant; additional campus equipment has to be considered through the relevant approvals.
Gas generation and renewable-energy commitments
Meta says it will match the campus’s electricity use with clean and renewable energy. Greenlight will nevertheless burn natural gas. The matching commitment does not demonstrate that the facility will receive renewable electricity at every hour of operation. [3][5]
Greenlight’s initial federal filing estimated approximately 5.68 million tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions annually for the full 1,864-megawatt development, assuming continuous operation without carbon capture. That is a modelled full-development scenario, not measured emissions or an estimate limited to the committed first phase. [12]
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada determined that a comprehensive federal assessment was unnecessary because potential effects within federal jurisdiction would be limited or addressed through other regulatory processes. The decision followed an initial review; it did not exempt the development from all environmental regulation. [13]
Jobs and public financing
Meta projects approximately 3,000 workers at peak construction and more than 300 operational jobs. It also promises approximately $60 million for local infrastructure, including roads and water systems. Construction employment would peak during the build, while the smaller operational workforce would remain after opening. [14]
The county expects additional business activity and a larger non-residential tax base. A project-specific annual municipal tax estimate was not established in the documents reviewed. [15]
There is also a federal financing connection to the power plant. Export Development Canada lists Greenlight among its signed projects, with a July 2 signing date. Canada’s National Observer and The Logic reported financing of between $100 million and $200 million. [16][17][18]
The reported financing supports the power plant. It has not been identified as a grant to Meta.
The next decisions
The November 10 effective date and appeal deadline for the piling permit is the next dated step identified in the county’s latest notice. The residents’ challenge to the earlier master permit is a separate proceeding. [1][2]
A full schedule for the campus’s electricity demand before Greenlight opens, its final water-supply arrangements and a project-specific annual municipal tax estimate remain unverified.
For residents seeking a hearing, the immediate question is whether the tribunal will let their challenge proceed—and whose concerns it will hear.
Sources
- Sturgeon County — October 20 piling permit
- The Energy Mix — October 13 tribunal hearing, reported October 15
- Meta — July 8 announcement
- Sturgeon County — June 16 master site permit
- Pembina — Greenlight final investment decision
- AUC — Greenlight proceeding and approval
- Capital Power — Meta energy supply agreement
- AESO — Large load allocations
- Provincial announcement reproduced by Sturgeon County
- AUC — Decision 30261-D02-2026
- Sturgeon County — Data centre development and water policy
- Greenlight — Initial project description, greenhouse-gas estimates
- Impact Assessment Agency of Canada — Early assessment decision
- Meta Data Centers — Employment and infrastructure commitments
- Sturgeon County — Economic benefits announcement
- EDC — Signed Category A projects
- Canada’s National Observer — Greenlight financing
- The Logic — EDC financing report
